A 2650 mile PCT "Thru Hike" requires a 5+ month investment of time. On average, PCT Thru Hikers leave around April 24, and arrive in Manning Park, Canada about Sept 20. This is a long time to be away from home, so I have decided to break up the journey into 3 sections.

Section 1 is up first, and starts at the Southern terminus at the Mexican Border. I fly into Orange County April 6 where my friend (and JMT hiking partner) Chris will pick me up at the airport. I will stay with him the evening of April 6 and he will drive me to Campo the morning of April 7 where my first "official steps" begin. I plan on finishing Section 1 at Lone Pine, CA on May 25 (750 miles) - so I can get back home to spend time with my wonderful wife Lori, plant a garden, get household chores done, and enjoy the summer!

Section 2 is tentative. DEPENDING ON SECTION 1 SUCCESS AND LIFE EVENTS, I plan to leave for the trail again ~Aug 1 and start at Ashland, OR and then hike South back to Lone Pine, CA. This is roughly a 950 mile section, and will retrace the awesome JMT. So, I will be completing about 1700 miles of the PCT in 2013.

Section 3 is saved for 2014 and will be a Northbound trip from Ashland, OR to the Northern terminus in Canada - about 960 miles.

My gear list is attached. My starting base weight (everything I carry, minus food and water) will be just under 15lbs. I am actually carrying 2 sleep systems, a hammock AND a tarp/tent. I am hoping to utilize the hammock 60-80% of the time. It is a weight penalty of 30.1oz (almost 2 lbs!) but the comfort...worth it. I hope.

I plan to add an entry to this journal every day, depending on cell or wifi access. I can upload one photo per day via email. Please sign the guest book...I would love to see people who have visited!

You can flip through my entries using the drop-down control in the upper right-hand corner next to the word "View". At times there will be more than one photo (notice there are 4 for this entry).

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile national scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. The PCT traverses 24 national forests, 37 wilderness areas and 7 national parks. The PCT passes through 6 out of 7 of North Americas ecozones. Learn more: www.pcta.org